Watch: Gukesh visits famous Tirumala temple ahead of World C'ship title defence

NEW DELHI: Reigning World Chess Champion D Gukesh visited the famous Tirumala Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Andhra Pradesh on Friday to seek blessings ahead of his upcoming World Chess Championship title defence. The 20-year-old Indian grandmaster offered prayers as he prepares for a major challenge against Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov later this month. Gukesh's visit comes just days after he visited Neem Karoli Baba's ashram a few days ago. The young chess champion is preparing to defend his world title in a 14-game classical chess contest scheduled from November 24 to December 12 in Geneva, Switzerland. The upcoming match will be special as both Gukesh and Sindarov will be 20 years old when the contest begins, making it the youngest World Championship battle in chess history.

Gukesh made history in December 2024 when he defeated China's Ding Liren to become the youngest undisputed World Chess Champion at just 18 years, six months and 24 days. He also became only the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to win the prestigious title. Since earning his Grandmaster title in January 2019 at the age of 12, Gukesh has achieved several milestones. He became the youngest player to cross the 2750 rating mark and India's highest-rated player in September 2023. He has also played an important role in India's success at the Chess Olympiads, winning individual and team gold medals.

According to the schedule, the opening ceremony will take place on November 22, while the first classical game is scheduled for November 24 at the Fondation Martin Bodmer in Cologny, Geneva.

The final classical game will be played on December 11, with a tiebreaker scheduled for December 12 if required. The championship will feature a maximum of 14 classical games, and the first player to reach 7.5 points will be crowned champion. If both players finish level at 7-7, the title will be decided through tiebreaks. The total prize fund for the championship is $2.5 million. Each player will receive $200,000 for every game won, while the remaining prize money will be divided equally between them.